


tomorrow

by complicationstoo



Series: STB Bingo Round One [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Insecure Steve Rogers, Jealous Steve Rogers, Jealousy, M/M, Secret Relationship, but its not i swear, these tags make it sound sad or angsty for some reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29093088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/complicationstoo/pseuds/complicationstoo
Summary: “She’s just a friend, you know,” Natasha says, and Steve nods. He does know, because Tony told him himself a few days ago, then again tonight when he introduced her to everyone. But his hand was on her lower back, and hers was on his arm, and they were both smiling and so clearly familiar with each other that it didn’t matter that they’ve known each other since they were kids. All Steve could see was that someone else was Tony’s date for a gala he didn’t even want to come to in the first place, making the whole night that much more miserable for it.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: STB Bingo Round One [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037892
Comments: 26
Kudos: 297
Collections: STB Bingo: Round One





	tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my Steve | Tony | Bucky Bingo square:  
> G2 - Hope Van Dyne

“What’d that glass ever do to you?”

Steve jumps a bit at the sound of Natasha’s voice, and she looks at him with a raised eyebrow at the reaction. He doesn’t usually get startled, always on high alert when they’re out in public, and he knows she’s reading into the fact that he’s so distracted he didn’t notice her coming. Loosening his grip on the champagne glass in his hand, he sighs and warns, “Don’t say it.”

“Say what?”

“Whatever it is you’re thinking.”

She comes to stand next to him, leaning back against the wall he’s been trying to blend into for the last hour. In her hand is her own champagne glass, fuller than his own, and she takes a small sip from it. 

“I don’t have to say it, do I? You’ve been burning holes into the back of her head all night.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t try to argue the statement. It’s a losing battle, though he would say that burning holes is a touch dramatic. He’s just looking, really. Monitoring the situation. 

“She’s just a friend, you know,” Natasha says, and Steve nods. He does know, because Tony told him himself a few days ago, then again tonight when he introduced her to everyone. But his hand was on her lower back, and hers was on his arm, and they were both smiling and so clearly familiar with each other that it didn’t matter that they’ve known each other since they were kids. All Steve could see was that someone else was Tony’s date for a gala he didn’t even want to come to in the first place, making the whole night that much more miserable for it. 

“She has a boyfriend, too, I think,” Natasha continues. “One of those on and off things, but last I heard it was on right now.”

He nods again, taking a slow drink to give himself something to do. Hope Van Dyne’s relationship status doesn’t really concern him. He knows why she’s here, knows the reasoning behind why she needed to be his plus one that had nothing to do with a romantic relationship between the two of them and everything to do with business. 

“You should tell him how you feel, though. It’s not real tonight, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be single forever, Steve. You should take your chance before you lose it,” she says, and Steve tries not to laugh at how wrong she has it all. 

He did take his chance, nearly six months ago now. Or, rather, the chance sort of took them without warning or conscious decision. It was a Tuesday night, and Steve remembers it with the kind of clarity he thinks he would have even without the gift of perfect recall. They were coming off a long, draining battle, leaving them unable to muster the energy to have their guards up like they normally did. Tony’s smile was a little too soft for friendly, his eyes showing even more than usual, and Steve was too tired to come up with his typical list of reasons to be afraid to reveal his feelings. He still isn’t sure which one of them leaned in first, but he knows that Tony’s hands were gentle where they held him. 

He was the one to suggest keeping it between themselves for now, citing reasons that Tony instantly agreed with. Neither of them wanted the ordeal of being public, not when everything was so delicate and breakable. Then later when it was less fragile and more sure, it was just nice living in their own little bubble. Nice to have something that was theirs and theirs alone. 

Now, though, he’s wondering if they should have let it go on for so long. Natasha is looking at him with kindness that’s almost overbearing and a hint of pity that makes him feel bad for lying to her. And across the room, his boyfriend has his arm around someone else. 

“Yeah,” Steve sighs, and it’s easy to play the lovelorn part when jealousy is making its home in his chest. Not because he thinks anything might be happening between the two of them, but for reasons he can’t even begin to explain. “I know.”

“He’d say yes, you know.”

Natasha gives him a small, reassuring smile, and Steve does his best to return it. “I’ll think about it, Nat.”

She nods, and they’re quiet for a moment, drinking their champagne and watching the room. He tries not to stare at Tony, but it’s near impossible. His eyes are drawn there automatically, watching him as he puts on a show for some group of stuffy looking people. The smile isn’t completely real, but no one else can tell but Steve. It looks real enough for them, combined with the subtle touch of his hand on their arms every once and a while and the careful attention he seems to pay to every word they say. The first time Steve saw it, he remembers being amazed by the ease of it all. It’s still amazing now, but he also knows that by the end of the night Tony will be drained, exhausted by all the conversation with people he doesn’t like and full of rambling recaps of every ordeal. He hides his smile at the thought of being on the receiving end of those little rants behind his glass. 

Eventually their drinks are empty and Natasha must grow tired of watching him hopelessly stare, because she plucks the glass from his hand and deposits them on the nearest table, then takes him by the arm. “Come on. You’re going to dance with me to give the photographers something to work with, and then we’re making our escape.”

Steve smiles and lets himself be led to the dance floor. He spins her around with the aid of a ton of practice in the privacy of the Tower from in between the first and second gala he had to attend a couple of years ago. The first was a disaster in his memory, with crushed toes and numerous apologies to everyone who wanted a dance, which was more than he was expecting. It was Tony who taught him how to dance, and Steve can’t help but think about it now as he follows the same set of steps with Natasha. 

That was the first time he looked at Tony and realized how easy it would be to fall in love with him. 

The song comes to an end, and they walk off the dancefloor towards the door. Bruce left earlier in the night, Clint is back at the Tower with an injured ankle that Steve is fairly sure was healed two days ago, and Tony is still talking to a group of enraptured people. There’s no one they need to say goodbye to, and if it were seven months ago, he would have left with Natasha the second the opportunity presented itself. But tonight, he takes one look at Tony, noting the slowly dropping shoulders and the growing strain of his smile, and he can’t leave. 

“I think I’ll stick around a bit longer,” Steve says with an apologetic smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Natasha gives him a knowing look, but she doesn’t mention the obvious reason for him to stay behind. Instead, she leans in and presses her ruby red lips to his cheek. “See you in the morning.” 

Steve watches her leave for a moment, then takes stock of the room. The crowd is slowly thinning as the night goes on, but there’s still quite a few people left. It’ll be another couple of hours at least before anything is officially over. Pepper is off to one side, talking to an older couple he remembers seeing before at one of these, and he briefly considers going over there for someone to talk to before he catches Tony’s eye. 

Tony gives him a small smile, partially hidden behind his glass of sparkling water, and Steve watches as he carefully extracts himself from the conversation. The circle of people shifts to cover the gap where he once stood while he makes his way over to Steve. 

“Natasha ditch you?” Tony asks, his smile turning into something secretive, just for him. 

“Actually, I was supposed to go with her, so I think that technically means I was the one who ditched her.”

Tony puts a hand on his chest in mock offense. “So I was the one about to be ditched? What a cold-hearted group of team members we have.”

Steve smiles, ever careful not to let too much of his real emotion show it in when they’re out in public. “Natasha thinks I wanted to stay so I could pine over you in the corner.”

“Well, you were staring quite a bit tonight,” Tony teases. “Hope is quite convinced you’ve got a thing for me now. Suggested we could play it up to make you jealous, even. From what I could see, though, you didn’t need much help in that department.”

Steve sighs, “That obvious?”

“To me, always.”

“I’m not jealous of her,” Steve says, and Tony raises a dubious eyebrow. “Okay, maybe a little, but not because I thought anything was happening. I know you don’t care about her like that.”

Tony hums in thought, then tilts his head toward the door leading to the balcony. “Get some air with me?”

Steve follows him outside, doing a quick check of the surroundings to make sure they’re truly alone. The balcony is empty, and the cold October air makes him shiver. Tony goes over to the corner, tucked away from glass doors and cloaked by darkness. Joining him, Steve wraps an arm around his waist to keep him warm. It’s risky when he leans down to quickly kiss him, but he needs it.

“We could make this public if you wanted,” Tony says after a quiet minute, and Steve looks down at him in surprise. “I know you’re not jealous of her, but you did want to be you standing next to me all night.”

“Of course I did,” Steve easily admits. “But it was just one night. I can handle one night.”

“I know you can, but it’s more than one night and we both know it. It’s the fact that you have to sneak out of my room before everyone else is awake and we can’t sit together during movie nights. I can’t kiss you when I want to, can’t hold your hand, can’t do anything on the common floor at all. It’s not worth it anymore,” Tony says, sounding a little sad and frustrated. “It used to make sense, but I can’t see a reason why we should still be doing it. Do you?”

Steve smiles, “I was thinking the same thing earlier.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Steve nods, and he pulls Tony in a little closer. 

Tony turns to lean against Steve’s chest, cheek pressed to his shoulder. “Think they’re going to be mad?”

“Maybe at first, but I can’t imagine it lasting long. They all want us to be together, and I’m sure Nat will be relieved that she doesn’t have to tell me to just ask you already anymore.”

“She’s going to kill you.”

“She might,” Steve sighs. “But it’ll be worth it if we can be us in front of them.”

Tony looks up at him with a soft smile, the twinkling lights around them reflected in his eyes. “Tell them tomorrow?”

Steve nods, “Tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [@ifmywishescametrue](https://ifmywishescametrue.tumblr.com) :)


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